Is there anyway to correct the surpeme mistake which Ford made, when producing the 3.8's as SOHC, anyway to put a new top on the V6 and have it be DOHC? Sounds crazy, but as many of my friends are into Honda's, etc. they easily swap their top ends from SOHC to DOHC.
The 3.8 V6 is not a SOHC, it is just OHV. If ours was SOHC, we would have 2 cams, one for each head under the valve-covers. The V6 only has a single cam that is between and below the heads so it can control all the valves. I wouldn't say it is impossible to make it DOHC, but with the amount of money and time spent to modify and custom build half the stuff, there's no reason to. It would probably be cheaper to drop a DOHC 4v V8 in than custom a DOHC V6.
Ahh okay, i feel stupid now So like you said the Cam is in the middle of the V correct in between the two banks? Yah I see that it would just be easier to simply get the V8 heh Thanks
even if you had the v8 you would still need to swap out the motor for a different one to get DOHC instead of the standard v8 which is a SOHC
Well, figuring everything now-days is OHC, and the mustang did have a low-end SOHC engine up to '93, makes since to think Ford would have put atleast a SOHC V6 into the Mustang but nope. The only half-bright side is, you only have to buy one cam. That and you don't have to listen to V6 Mustangs sound even more raspy as they hit 7000 rpms.
ford made the 4.0L cologne OHV engine into a SOHC. why didn't they put the same efort into taking the 4.2L essex 3.8 based V6 to a DOHC setup is beyond me. a 4.2L DOHC 90 Degree V6 essex would make the same power or even alittle more than the NA 4.6L DOHC 4.6 because it breaths better with it's larger bores than the 4.6. ford really ****ed up there. a 4.2L Essex based DOHC engine would make 330hp and with FI make really wicked power. the new 3.5L DOHC makes the same power as the much older chrysler 3.5L V6. way to go ford. 10+ years behind in power
Maybe a 4.0 SOHC from a late model Explorer? You could probably tune it for street use. Plus it's going into a lighter vehicle. the 2dr. explorer are 4000lbs empty. a Mustang is about 3500lbs empty a '99 X is rated at 210hp/253lb-ft
that would be a step backwards. the cost of swapping in a 4.0 would be $4000+ for that money a 3.8 can have a procharger kit on it or a turbo kit on it and as for splitports 99+'s will make minimum 280rwhp 300ftlbs torque. the the OP. nothing wrong with pushrods. the 3.8 heads are really a good design singleport or splitport and can be ported to flow as well as aftermarket 5.0 heads. GTeater at v6power.net made damn close to 700rwhp on his Essex at only 17psi. built engine of course. yes a set of DOHC heads on a 4.2L essex would have made really nice power stock and have a block that can handle a ton of power. the 4.0 can't handle the power that the 3.8/3.9/4.2L essex block can take.
There's still a place for pushrod (OHV) motors in the automotive world...GM has shown that with their LSx series of V8's. OHV engines run fine at lower RPM's and can be tuned to produce great low-end torque. That's great for trucks and also great for muscle cars and pony cars too. I'm not sure why Ford, Toyota, and Nissan decided to produce OHC truck motors... The Essex V6 family would have been great as OHC engines, but would have been w-i-d-e as they are a 90 degree block. That's one place that the Cologne motor has an advantage with its 60 degree block. I think that all of GM's new OHC V6's are 60 degree designs also. Traditionally OHC engine designs have been reserved for high-RPM, low(er) torque needs (think light weight sports cars). The playing field can be leveled with turbo or supercharging or with multi-valve OHV designs. Ever seen the Arao 4 valve OHV Ford head?
wide yes they would. no wider than the DOHC mod engine but that is wide especially for FWD. still though one can imagine the better bore stroke ratio of the 3.8 essex in a DOHC. it sure would breath better than the smaller bore 4.6
